Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25504959›Full record

ArticleArthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)2015

Myofibroblasts in murine cutaneous fibrosis originate from adiponectin-positive intradermal progenitors.

Roberta Goncalves Marangoni, Benjamin D Korman, Jun Wei, Tammara A Wood, Lauren V Graham, Michael L Whitfield, Philipp E Scherer, Warren G Tourtellotte, John Varga

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 189 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
189citing papers in PubMed
14.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

189 citing papers in PubMed, 323 citations in OpenAlex.

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  18. Revolutionizing Autoimmune Research: The Role of Caveolin-1.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2025
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Wnt Activation in Mature Dermal Adipocytes Leads to Lipodystrophy and Skin Fibrosis via ATGL-Dependent Lipolysis.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025
    Article

129 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Roberta Goncalves MarangoniNorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
Benjamin D Korman
Jun Wei
Tammara A Wood
Lauren V Graham
Michael L Whitfield
Philipp E Scherer
Warren G Tourtellotte
John Varga
Northwestern University · USDartmouth College · USThe University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center · US

Funding

Tumor Environment and Metastasis (TEAM) Research ProgramP30CA060553 · NCI · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI Daniela E Matei · 1993 to 2026
$153.9M
REGULATION OF COLLAGEN GENE EXPRESSION BY TGF-BETAR01AR042309 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · PI VARGA, JOHN · 1994 to 2014
$4.4M
Career Development in Women's Health (CDWH)K12HD055884 · NICHD · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI DUNAIF, ANDREA E · 2007 to 2016
$4.2M
Rheumatic Diseases Research Core CentersP30AR061271 · NIAMS · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI BHAWAN, JAG · 2011 to 2015
$3.1M
Post Graduate Program in Cutaneous BiologyT32AR060710 · NIAMS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI Amy S Paller · 2012 to 2026
$2.4M
Aberrant TLR responses driving organ fibrosis in systemic sclerosisR56AR042309 · NIAMS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI VARGA, JOHN · 2018 to 2018
$477k
Mentoring and Research in Mouse PathobiologyK26OD010945 · OD · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI TOURTELLOTTE, WARREN G · 2012 to 2014
$471k
NCI NIH HHS CA-060553NCI NIH HHS P30 CA060553NCI NIH HHS P30-CA-060553NIAMS NIH HHS AR-42309NIAMS NIH HHS P30 AR061271NIAMS NIH HHS P30-AR-061271NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR042309NIAMS NIH HHS R56 AR042309NIAMS NIH HHS T32 AR060710NIAMS NIH HHS T32-AR-060710NICHD NIH HHS K12 HD055884NIH HHS K26 OD010945NIH HHS OD-010945
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAccumulation of myofibroblasts in fibrotic skin is a hallmark of systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma), but the origins of these cells remain unknown. Because loss of intradermal adipose tissue is a consistent feature of cutaneous fibrosis, we sought to examine the hypothesis that myofibroblasts populating fibrotic dermis derive from adipocytic progenitors.

methodsWe performed genetic fate mapping studies to investigate the loss of intradermal adipose tissue and its potential role in fibrosis in mice with bleomycin-induced scleroderma. Modulation of adipocytic phenotypes ex vivo was investigated in adipose tissue-derived cells in culture.

resultsA striking loss of intradermal adipose tissue and its replacement with fibrous tissue were consistently observed in mice with bleomycin-induced fibrosis. Loss of adipose tissue and a decline in the expression of canonical adipogenic markers in lesional skin preceded the onset of dermal fibrosis and expression of fibrogenic markers. Ex vivo, subcutaneous adipocytes were driven by transforming growth factor β to preferentially undergo fibrogenic differentiation. Cell fate mapping studies in mice with the adiponectin promoter-driven Cre recombinase transgenic construct indicated that adiponectin-positive progenitors that are normally confined to the intradermal adipose tissue compartment were distributed throughout the lesional dermis over time, lost their adipocytic markers, and expressed myofibroblast markers in bleomycin-treated mice.

conclusionThese observations establish a novel link between intradermal adipose tissue loss and dermal fibrosis and demonstrate that adiponectin-positive intradermal progenitors give rise to dermal myofibroblasts. Adipose tissue loss and adipocyte-myofibroblast transition might be primary events in the pathogenesis of cutaneous fibrosis that represent novel potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

Indexed as

Cell LineageAdipocytesAdiponectinAnimalsBleomycinDisease Models, AnimalFibrosisMiceMyofibroblastsScleroderma, SystemicSkinSkin DiseasesAdiponectinBleomycin

Identifiers

PMID25504959
PMCPMC4472310
OpenAlexW1558442378

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.